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Security report for open-research-data-portal.ch

Open Research Data Portal · Education · Switzerland

High risk. 9 critical or high findings in Network security, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

46/100

Risk levelHigh

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

The Open Research Data Portal is a collaborative platform dedicated to implementing Open Research Data (ORD) practices within the ETH Domain, encompassing prominent Swiss research institutions such as ETH Zurich, EPFL, Eawag, PSI, WSL, and Empa. The portal provides comprehensive information on ORD projects, services, and training resources, targeting researchers and academic institutions. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using Elementor and various Jet plugins, with integration of Google Analytics for minimal user tracking. However, the site lacks a valid SSL certificate, resulting in no HTTPS support, which is a critical security shortfall. The presence of SPF and DMARC records indicates some email security awareness, though the DMARC policy is set to 'none', offering no enforcement. Privacy compliance is basic, with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism detected. Overall, the site offers good content quality and professional design but requires urgent security improvements to protect user data and enhance trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
25/ 100 · Critical
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

9 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
  2. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…
  3. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching open-research-data-portal.ch

This scan found 24 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
85
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
25
Average
46

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet · found on this site
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention open-research-data-portal.ch, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for open-research-data-portal.ch right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The portal serves as an essential information hub for open research data initiatives within the ETH Domain, positioning itself as a niche academic resource. Its business model revolves around providing visibility and support for ORD projects, facilitating collaboration among Swiss research institutions. The partnership ecosystem is strong, involving multiple ETH Domain entities and swissuniversities. The site’s content and structure reflect a focus on transparency and accessibility for researchers, though direct contact information is limited to a newsletter subscription form. The portal’s market position is stable within the academic sector, with potential for growth through enhanced services and broader outreach.

Security posture

The website’s security posture is currently weak due to the absence of a valid SSL certificate and lack of HTTPS, exposing users to potential data interception risks. While SPF is correctly configured, the DMARC policy is non-enforcing, which may allow email spoofing. No advanced security headers or mechanisms such as HSTS, OCSP stapling, or session resumption are implemented. The site does not display any incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies, indicating limited readiness for security incidents. The use of up-to-date plugins and frameworks is positive, but the critical lack of HTTPS significantly undermines overall security.

Recommendations

  1. Install and maintain a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire site.
  2. Configure DMARC with a stricter policy (e.g., quarantine or reject) and set up reporting to monitor email authentication.
  3. Implement security headers such as HSTS with includeSubDomains and preload directives.
  4. Enable OCSP stapling and session resumption to improve SSL performance and security.
  5. Add a cookie policy and consent mechanism to comply with privacy regulations.
  6. Publish clear security and incident response policies, including vulnerability disclosure guidelines.
  7. Regularly update all plugins and monitor for security vulnerabilities.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern WordPress CMS with Elementor page builder and Jet plugins, providing a flexible and rich content management environment. It uses jQuery, Swiper for carousels, and integrates Google Analytics via Site Kit. The site is hosted on Metanet infrastructure with responsive design and good accessibility features. However, the page load time is relatively slow (3661 ms) with a large page size (~134 KB), indicating potential optimization opportunities. The absence of HTTPS and modern TLS protocols is a significant technical risk. SEO is well addressed with comprehensive meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Overall, the technical stack is solid but requires security and performance enhancements.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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